Adopt Resolution #21-057 Accepting Bids and Awarding Contract for Improvement Project #21-00, Riverdale Drive Reconstruction, Feldspar Street to Sunfish Lake Boulevard

Purpose:
The purpose of this case is to consider adopting Resolution #21-057 accepting bids and awarding a contract for construction of Improvement Project #21-00, Riverdale Drive Reconstruction, Feldspar Street to Sunfish Lake Boulevard. 

Background:
Project Designation
This project has been designated as City Improvement Project #21-00. 
 
Project Location / Scope
City Improvement Project #21-00 proposes to reconstruct Riverdale Drive NW between Feldspar Street NW and Sunfish Lake Boulevard in 2021 as identified in the 2021 - 2030 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The segment of Riverdale Drive to be reconstructed totals approximately 2,925 lineal feet, or 0.55 miles. The title sheet of the attached plans includes a figure showing the location and scope of the proposed improvements.   
 
Existing Conditions / Proposed Improvements
The pavement on this segment of Riverdale Drive is in very poor condition and Public Works Staff spend an excessive amount of time each year patching the pavement. Staff has received numerous complaints from the public in recent years regarding the poor condition of this pavement.

On November 24, 2020, the City Council adopted Resolution #20-248 accepting a proposal from Bolton & Menk, Inc. to provide design services for this project including collecting topographic survey data, completing geotechnical evaluations, preparing plans and specifications complying with Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) State Aid standards, providing required submittals to State Aid, and bidding services. Riverdale Drive is part of the City’s Municipal State Aid (MSA) system and is therefore required to meet MnDOT State Aid standards.


Riverdale Drive is currently 44-feet wide from face-of-curb to face-of-curb, but is proposed to be reduced by 10-feet throughout the corridor to a width of 34-feet from face-of-curb to face-of-curb. To accomplish this, two existing 6-foot wide on-street bike lanes on the west end of Riverdale Drive are proposed to be removed, along with the on-street parking lane along the north side. An 8-foot wide on-street parking lane is proposed along the south side of Riverdale Drive to accommodate on-street parking for adjacent properties and trail users, as well as for the Mississippi River observation deck proposed within the 2021-2030 Capital Improvement Program (CIP). Drive lanes are proposed to be 12-feet wide, with an additional 2-feet provided along the curb on the north side to better accommodate truck traffic and to mitigate loss of useable pavement in the winter due to snow and ice accumulations.
 
A 10-foot wide off-street bituminous trail exists north of Riverdale Drive and west of Sunfish Lake Boulevard. This trail terminates approximately 300 feet east of Dolomite Street, where it connects to Riverdale Drive. This trail is proposed to be extended to Feldspar Street to allow pedestrians and bicyclists to use the off-street trail, which will be separated from Riverdale Drive by a boulevard between 6 and 8-feet wide that will better accommodate snow storage and reduce drifting of snow along the corridor, compared to the existing 0 to 2-foot wide boulevard.
 
Sheet 9 of the attached plans show the proposed typical sections.
 
Municipal utilities (water supply and sanitary sewer) exist within the project area. Sanitary sewer improvements are not proposed with this project. The sanitary sewer lines were cleaned and televised and the results verified that repairs are not immediately needed or anticipated to be needed during the 60-year design life of the improvements. Similarly, no water supply improvements are proposed. However, water service lines extending from the trunk line to individual properties are proposed to be inspected at the right of way to confirm that each service line is properly tied back to the trunk line. This work will help ensure that service line repairs will not be needed during the design life of the proposed improvements, and is being proposed as repairs to several water service lines were made recently along this segment of Riverdale Drive. The water supply system was recently tested for leaks and the results indicate that repairs are not immediately needed or anticipated to be needed during the design life of the improvements.
 
Storm sewer improvements are proposed with this project including adding trunk storm sewer under Riverdale Drive to better convey stormwater runoff from the Dolomite Street intersection area to the Mississippi River, and adding a pollution control structure to remove pollutants from stormwater runoff before it is discharged to the river.

On January 26, 2021, the City Council approved final plans and specifications as prepared by Bolton & Menk, Inc. and authorized advertisements for bids. Bids were advertised in the Anoka Union Herald and in Finance and Commerce on January 29th and February 5th, 2021. The project was also bid electronically through QuestCDN.
 
On March 2, 2021, eleven (11) bids were received and opened in a virtual public bid opening. The bids were then checked for errors and omissions and were tabulated. All bids were found to comply with the approved plans and specifications and advertisements for bids, and no errors or omissions were identified. A tabulation of all 11 bids is below.    
 

CONTRACTOR	TOTAL BID
Kuechle Underground Inc.	$771,913.13
North Valley, Inc.	$791,060.27
Douglas-Kerr Underground, L.L.C	$845,987.17
Forest Lake Contracting, Inc.	$847,213.68
Omann Brothers Paving Inc.	$878,025.24
Valley Paving, Inc.	$887,910.50
Asphalt Surface Technologies Corp.	$913,349.27
Northdale Construction Company, Inc.	$926,199.75
Park Construction Company	$935,789.85
GMH Asphalt Corporation	$945,037.71
C.S.McCrossan Construction, Inc.	$1,049,298.65
Engineer’s Estimate	$925,096.50

 
Kuechle Underground Inc. submitted the lowest responsible bid in the amount of $771,913.13 for construction of the proposed improvements in accordance with the approved plans and specifications and advertisement for bids. The low bid is $153,183.37 (16.6%) less than the engineer’s estimate.

The proposed improvements are anticipated to have a serviceable life of 60 years, assuming that proactive maintenance operations are performed on a regular basis during the life of the improvements.

Project schedule
March 9 – Accept bids / award contract
Late May / early June – Begin construction
September 3, 2021 – Substantial completion (open to traffic)
2022 – Final completion / payment   

Advertisements for bids were published in the Anoka County Union Herald and in Finance & Commerce on January 29 and February 5, 2021, as required by State Statute. Bids were also advertised electronically on QuestCDN.    

Observations:
Removing the segment of Dolomite Street between Riverdale Drive and Highway 10 was initially considered with this project as this work is identified in the Highway 10 Access Planning Study and was carried forward in the Ramsey Gateway Plan. Unfortunately, this work was not able to be added to the project without causing a significant delay in project delivery. However, plans and specifications for this work are now being prepared by Bolton & Menk as authorized by City Council Resolution #21-048. Pending future Council approval(s), this work will be completed in 2021 as part of Improvement Project #21-00 via supplemental agreement, or as a separate project.
 
A 6-foot wide concrete sidewalk was contemplated along the south side of Riverdale Drive between Dolomite Street and Feldspar Street to enhance pedestrian access to Riverdale Park for pedestrians with origins or destinations south of Riverdale Drive. Because the proposed sidewalk was estimated to cost $110,000, the costs outweighed the potential benefits so the sidewalk was not included in the constructed plans.   

Also contemplated was construction of a Mississippi River observation deck and trail connection south of Riverdale Drive and east of Dolomite Street as identified in the 2021 - 2030 CIP. Since constructing the overlook with this project would not have resulted in reduced construction costs, the observation deck and connecting trail will instead be considered for construction when the private property develops.  
 
The only public comment received to date has been in the form of calls received in recent years that the pavement is in need of repairs and/or replacement. A public information meeting was not conducted for this project because plans were developed quickly and the current COVID-19 pandemic does not allow for large in-person gatherings. Instead, a project web page was developed and populated with information to allow the public to learn about the project online, and letters were mailed to abutting property owners informing them of the proposed improvements, providing a link to the project web page, and providing contact information in case anyone has questions or wants to discuss anything in more detail with City Staff.
 
Access to abutting properties will be maintained throughout construction as best as practical. Staff will work with property owners as needed to ensure they are informed in advance of access interruptions, if needed. Access for emergency services will be maintained throughout construction. 

Alternatives:
Alternative #1 – Motion to adopt Resolution #21-057 accepting bids and awarding a contract for construction of Improvement Project #21-00, Riverdale Drive Reconstruction, Feldspar Street to Sunfish Lake Boulevard, to Kuechle Underground, Inc. in the amount of $771,913.13. 

Alternative #2 – Motion to deny adoption of Resolution #21-057 at this time.  

The lowest responsible bid for constructing the proposed improvements is $771,913.13. Estimated project costs include an additional 23-percent for indirect costs (administrative, engineering, finance and legal costs), resulting in an estimated project cost of $949,453.15.
 
Funding sources for the improvements includes a mix of Municipal State Aid (MSA) Funds and Stormwater Funds. Municipal State Aid (MSA) Funds are proposed to pay for all street and trail improvements. Stormwater Funds are proposed to pay for all stormwater related improvements. Costs related to sanitary sewer and/or watermain work will be paid through the respective enterprise fund.
 
Bolton & Menk, Inc. prepared construction plans and specifications for this project per the attached design services proposal. Staff therefore requested BMI to submit a construction services proposal for such services as contract preparation, attending the pre-construction conference, reviewing shop drawings, providing construction staking, assisting with pay applications, completing as-built survey work, preparing record drawings, and potentially assisting with other lesser tasks during construction, if needed. BMI submitted the attached proposal with not-to-exceed fees totaling $21,682. These fees are part of indirect project costs. Staff feels the proposed fees are reasonable based on the complexity and scope of the proposed improvements, and recommends accepting the proposal as submitted.
 
City staff proposes to administer and inspect construction for this project.
 
Staff proposes to utilize Northern Technologies, Inc. for materials testing services at an estimated project cost of $8,000, which are also part of the indirect project costs.  

Staff recommends approving alternative #1.
 
The timing of this case did not allow Staff to request a recommendation for accepting bids and awarding a contract from the Public Works Committee. However, the Committee did recommend approving the plans and authorizing advertisements for bids.
 
Per the attached memorandum, Bolton & Menk, Inc., the design engineer for this project, recommends awarding the contract to Kuechle Underground, Inc. in the amount of $771,913.13.  

Motion to adopt Resolution #21-057 accepting bids and awarding a contract for construction of Improvement Project #21-00, Riverdale Drive Reconstruction, Feldspar Street to Sunfish Lake Boulevard, to Kuechle Underground, Inc. in the amount of $771,913.13.